South African political parties dispute candidate lists for 2026 elections

The MK Party has condemned the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) after the body rejected its request to amend candidate lists for the 2026 local government elections. The party sought to rectify ward placements, omissions, and the replacement of deceased candidates. The IEC maintained that a recent Constitutional Court ruling regarding the African National Congress (ANC) did not reopen the nomination process beyond restoring nominations already captured on the online system before the deadline.

Separately, the ANC has commissioned a forensic audit by Tayfin Forensic & Investigative Auditors to investigate discrepancies in its own candidate lists. The investigation aims to determine why certain candidates approved by the party’s national executive committee did not appear on the final lists submitted to the IEC. The probe will examine whether unauthorized changes were made, if political instructions influenced the lists, or if directives were issued to delay submissions before the August 28 deadline.